A water crisis in the upstate village of Hoosick Falls

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by Matt Ryan on

Village of Hoosick Falls

Brian Flynn

You've likely heard of the water crisis happening now in Flint, Michigan. Here in New York, one village in Rensselaer County is having one of their own.

Hoosick Falls is just a few miles from the Vermont border in the eastern part of the state. Lifelong resident Michael Hickey lost his father to kidney cancer in 2013 and soon after that a family friend died from the same disease. He did some investigating on his own and ended up discovering a chemical in the village water system known as C8, a synthetic compound that is incredibly durable. The EPA confirmed his finding and alerted the mayor in November that residents shouldn't be drinking from the public water supply.

Jenna Flanagan explains where the chemical may have come from and how residents are coping as they wait for a resolution.

UPDATE - On Wednesday afternoon, the commissioners of the Department of Health and Environmental Conservation declared the community a state Superfund site, allowing emergency actions to commence including accessing and cleaning up the contamination.